


Rich Fantasy Lives

by eerian_sadow



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: None - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-04
Updated: 2008-10-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 02:23:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9578282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eerian_sadow/pseuds/eerian_sadow
Summary: Soundwave's cassettes have decided that it's time for some upgrades.





	1. Chapter 1

just a little ficbit based on bunny #20 from [this post](http://community.livejournal.com/tf_bunny_farm/86760.html) over at the [](http://tf-bunny-farm.livejournal.com/profile)[**tf_bunny_farm**](http://tf-bunny-farm.livejournal.com/). totally fell in love with the concept when i read it, and managed to break the writer's block that was afflicting me all week.

Title: untitled  
Rating: G  
Warnings: none  
Characters: Rumble, Frenzy, Soundwave, Jazz

  
Soundwave didn’t think anything of it when Blaster sent him the data file. He knew that it was technically fraternizing with the enemy, but they had been making such exchanges for so many years that no one even bothered to mention the communications to their leaders anymore. The communications officer simply opened the message, read the portion that was addressed to him and passed the rest—as requested by Eject and Rewind—to his symbiotes.

Blaster’s Twins were forever sending his Twins data or stories they found interesting. Soundwave never thought that it would actually cause him _problems_.

“But why can’t you reformat us?” Frenzy asked him for the fifth time that hour. “The picture in the book isn’t all that different—you just add some wings and thrusters! You did it with Buzzsaw and Laserbeak!”

“The solution is not that simple.” Soundwave mimicked a human sigh—likely the most useful sound he had ever encountered. “Laserbeak and Buzzsaw were formatted to be fliers. You and Rumble would have to be completely reformatted and reprogrammed.”

“But we want to fly!” the red cassette whined. “Please, Soundwave!”

The communications officer sighed again. He loved his brother, but if Blaster let Eject and Rewind send any more human literature to his twins, Soundwave would kill him. “But why do you want to be reformatted to look like _demons_?”

“Think of how the humans would run,” Frenzy replied with a savage grin.

Soundwave did—and decided he liked the picture it presented. The humans had become too jaded to the Decepticon presence on Earth; it was time to shake them up a little.

“Very well. Find Scavenger and tell him I need him to find components.”

Frenzy’s excited whoop echoed through the base as he left their quarters.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Jazz had heard rumors of two new Decepticon agents infiltrating Human power plants for nearly two weeks before he had the opportunity to check them out. Even then, his opportunity required him to take his leave time and make a personal project out of the investigation.

The Decepticon base was quiet as he stalked through the corridors. As always, he was surprised by how easy it was for him to sneak into the underwater facility. If Decepticon security was a third as good as Red Alert made Autobot security, then he wouldn’t have made it any closer than a mile away before he was intercepted.

And here he was now, standing outside Megatron’s personal quarters. Sometimes it really was all too easy.

“You look pleased with yourself, Jazz,” said a voice behind him.

Jazz cursed himself. How had he been careless enough to let Rumble get behind him without noticing? “Well, ya did let me get pretty far inside before anyone found me.”

“Are you kidding?” The cassette asked. “We’ve been following you since you crawled in through that air shaft. Nice work there, by the way. That whole corridor should have flooded.”

“I am to please.” The Autobot saboteur turned slowly, hoping that Rumble was bluffing about being with one of his siblings. One cassettecon he could handle, two—especially if the second was one of the fliers—would almost certainly be able to take him down.

His optics widened in shock as he took in the Twins standing behind him. They were obviously Rumble and Frenzy, but not. For some reason, Soundwave had almost completely reformatted them. Their faces and voices were the same, but they had been recolored and were now sporting wings on their backs and horns on their heads.

The horns looked disturbingly functional.

“What do you think, Jazz?” Frenzy asked. “You like the new look?”

“No, I can honestly say I don’t,” Jazz replied, trying to think of a way out of his current predicament. The cassettecon Twins weren’t new agents, but he had no idea what new abilities came with their new formatting.

“Well, then,” Rumble replied, transforming his hands into very familiar pile-drivers. “We’ll just have to teach you to appreciate it.”  



	2. Chapter 2

just a little ficbit based on bunny #20 from [this post](http://community.livejournal.com/tf_bunny_farm/86760.html) over at the [](http://tf-bunny-farm.livejournal.com/profile)[**tf_bunny_farm**](http://tf-bunny-farm.livejournal.com/).

Title: untitled 2  
Rating: PG  
Characters: soundwave, ravage, steeljaw

  
He should have expected his other cassettes to demand upgrades when he allowed Rumble and Frenzy to reformat, but he was taken by complete surprise when Ravage presented him with his demands.

The feline cassette made his request much more reasonably than the Twins had. Instead of whining and getting in his way until Soundwave agreed, Ravage presented him with a fully detailed schematic that would reformat him into a triple-changer.

“Why this form?” Soundwave asked, already knowing he would be giving in to his oldest creation no matter the reasoning. Ravage was far more sensible than Ravage and Frenzy combined and would have thought his alternate forms through far more thoroughly.

_This,_ Ravage tapped the aerial schematic with one paw, _Will not be good for stealth. The claws are too long and the wings would scrape against small spaces. It’s also a bit bulkier and I might get stuck._

“But why did you also choose a fictional creature from human legend?” Soundwave was genuinely confused by that aspect of his creations’ demands. He had been expecting them to ask for upgrades or reformats for vorns, but he never expected them to want something so completely foreign to their background.

_Why not? These forms intimidate the humans and they provide us with tactical advantages the Autobots aren’t expecting._

The communications officer considered Ravage’s reasons. They were sound and made sense, but the quadruped sounded far too smug for that to be the only reason. “Is that all?”

_And it will make me look much better than Steeljaw,_ he replied with delight in his tone.

Soundwave wondered if his brother had to deal with these kinds of demands from his cassettes.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Steeljaw was running recon for Jazz’s team before they infiltrated the power plant that Megatron had most recently taken over. There were unconfirmed rumors that the Rumble, Frenzy and at least one more of Soundwave’s cassettes and Prowl refused to allow Optimus to send the entire team in before they had more concrete data.

He crept through corridors that reeked of Ravage as he neared Megatron’s command center. He knew he was getting close based on the smell alone—though he would have known as soon as he heard Starscream’s screeching voice.

Steeljaw allowed himself a moment of amusement; the Seeker was not at all amused at his cousins’ recent reformatting and upgrades.

His moment of amusement proved to be his downfall as something slammed into him from above and horribly sharp claws tore into his back as he listened to the Seeker’s whining. He berated himself for being so stupid as to get distracted as Ravage’s unique scent filled his olfactory sensors.

Knowing that his cousin would have already reported his position to Megatron, Steeljaw activated his comm line. _Jazz, they’ve found me! They know we’re here!_

Jazz was calm on the other end of the line. _Acknowleged. Are Rumble and Frenzy there?_

Steeljaw tried desperately to pull himself out of Ravage’s grasp, but it seemed like the other felinoid mech had been upgraded with his brothers. He was much stronger than he remembered. _I don’t know! I’m a little busy with Ravage right now._

_Try to stay in one piece until we get there._

Steeljaw wondered if that would be possible as he felt the unmistakable sensation of a beak digging into the back of his neck and beginning to shred wires. He was going to have a long talk with Blaster about upgrades if he came home from this.  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: considering that Ratbat didn't show up for the first time until TF:TM, my personal fannon says that he was created on earth and is therefore very, very young. and so, he acts like it.

“But, Soundwave, please…?”

“No.” The communications officer shook his head in denial of his youngest cassette’s request, though he wondered how long he would actually be able to hold out against his whining. Especially since Ravage and his impeccable logic had been involved in the young mech’s persuasive tactics.

“But you upgraded the twins! And Ravage! It’s not fair!” Ratbat fluttered aimlessly around the room, not content to merely hover in one place—or hang upside down like the Earth creatures he had been modeled after.

“No,” Soundwave repeated. “You are too young.”

“I am not! Hook says that sparklings can be upgraded and modified any time after they’ve been online for a meta-cycle.” The cassettecon hovered for a moment for emphasis. “And I’m almost two Earth years old now. That’s way longer than a meta-cycle!”

Soundwave sighed. Ratbat was, unfortunately, right. And he was being a bit unfair—had it been Buzzsaw or Laserbeak who had made this particular request, he would have allowed it immediately.

“Very well.”

Ratbat shrieked in delight.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Hound could not have been more stunned when he found the tiny dragon-like creature playing in the flowers if it had been a real, biological organism. He and the science team had spent weeks going over the flora and fauna of the Earth, sorting the real creatures from the fictional and the living from the extinct. Seeing a robotic miniature dragon in the middle of the wilderness habitat he and Trailbreaker frequented was disquieting on a number of levels.

Especially once he saw the Decepticon sigil on its chest plates.

He drew his pistol, not willing to be caught nearly as unaware as Jazz and Steeljaw had been by Soundwave’s recently upgraded cassettes. 

The dragon made an indignant chirping sound in response. “Hey! That’s not fair! I’m not attacking you!”

“Ratbat?” Now Hound was even more confused—and more wary. Ratbat never went anywhere without one of his older siblings.

“Yep! But I’m not a bat anymore, see?” The little mech—just a sparkling really, too young for the war—flapped his wings so that he was hovering in front of the tracker. “Do I look cool?”

“You look very impressive,” Hound assured him, wondering if he would be able to get away before any of the older cassettes showed up. “But why’d Soundwave turn you into a dragon?”

“Because I asked him to!” Ratbat’s tone clearly said that Hound should have been able to figure that out on his own. “It’s nicer than being a stupid bat.”

“I can see where it would be,” the tracker agreed. “Are all of your siblings being upgraded?”

“Probably. I don’t know what Laserbeak and Buzzsaw want to be yet, though.” The cassettecon flew in circles around Hound’s head, radiating excitement. “But Ravage is a griffin now—and an angel, so he has _hands_ \--and the Twins are demons and we all look so cool!”

Hound had to smile at the sparkling’s youthful excitement. It was infectious, even if he did belong to the enemy faction. He filed away the data Ratbat was giving him into an easily downloadable packet; just knowing that Ravage had a third form now would be invaluable information.

“And look! I can breathe fire!” Ratbat demonstrated by blowing a small plume of flame into the grass.

The older mech quickly beat out the burning grass before it spread out of control. “That’s great, but please don’t do it out here. Just one fire could ruin all these flowers out here.”

Ratbat’s whole posture fell. “I like the flowers! I don’t want to hurt them!”

“It’s all right,” Hound said, pulling the sparkling from the air and holding him comfortingly against his chest plates. “Just remember to be more careful.”

“Okay.” Ratbat settled against the older mech comfortably. 

Hound wondered if his processor had finally fragmented. What was he thinking, cuddling with a Decepticon sparkling?

He was relieved when Ratbat’s head shot up and he said, “Oh, Soundwave’s calling. I have to go! Bye, Hound!”

Hound released his grip on the sparkling and watched as he flew away. Then he turned back toward the _Ark_ , wondering how he was going to write the report for this encounter.

At least he wasn’t going to spend a week in medbay after his encounter with a reformatted cassette.


End file.
